Smelting-furnace for lead ores and the like



J. LABARTHE.

SMELTING FURIIIACE FOR LEAD ORES AND THE LI'KE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. so, 1919.

1,356,159. Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

M /WZ/ l. LABARTHE.

SMELTING FURNACE FOR LEAD ORES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, |919.

l l l I v /a T i l l I uw;

:I ze l *6 Patented Oct. 19, 1920. A

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATESA sMELTING-FUBNACE Fon LEAD `omis AND THE LIKE.

`Speciiicatiolrof Letters Patent. Patented Oct,k 19, 1920 Application ledseptember 30, 1919. Serial No. 327,479.

T o all 'whomz't may concern Be it known that I, JULES LABARTHE, a. citizen of the United States, and resident of the city and county of San Francisco,State of Californimhave invented new and useful Improvements in Smelting- Furnaces for Lead Gres and the like, of which the followino is a specification.

l/Iy invention has for its object the design and arrangement of blast furnaces for the purpose of smelting metal bearing ores, such as those containing lead, frequently associated with other values, also the accessory parts and their combined use with the said furnace, whereby the smelting orreducing takes place most efficiently as regards recovery of values, the time and expense involved in the process, and a minimumr depreciation of the apparatus employed. Another important object is that of reducing the labor involved to a minimum.

@ther objects will appear from the description which follows: Y l

In blast furnace smelting it isV desirable to have the charge smelt uniformly throughout the length and breadth of the furnace; and as the actual smelting or reduction takes place at some considerable distance below the surface of the charge in the shaft of the furnace the result of uneven smelting is not noted by observing` the surface for several hours after the smelting irregularity has commenced. This irregularity in smelting is later indicated on the surface of the charge, where depressions will occur. The irregularity will 'now become more aggravated because the blast has less resistance in ascending the shorter column vertically below the depressions.

By my invention'I correct this unevenness by properly placing new charges of the same or different mixtures, as of fuel, uX, or ore where required, to secure an evening up of the surface contour. Under the old method of hand feeding, irregularity was less frequent on account of the skilled labor employed and the care exercised in shoveling the'various components `of the charge intothe furnace andl placing these at the proper points. Subsequently mechanical charging came into use on account of the cost and difficulty in securing skilled `and careful workmen. v In mechanical charging heretofore the practice has, been to employ charge cars havapproximately the'length ofthe furnace,

and these cars were filled and the-charge i therein carefullyk disposed land arranged either by shoveling the components of the charge into the cars in successivefpredetermined even ylayers at somepoint more convenient to the ore bins andv then transferring the car to a position over the top of the furnace, or the charge car of approximately the length of the furnace was in some casesl filled f from. above through va slot by distributing in layers the components of the charge by meansrof similar cars, or chargebuggies, or apron feeders, orbelt conveyers.

In practice this method has been found to be inadequate to maintain Veven smelting, and entirely inadequate to correct unevenness. In fact, bythe addition of chargesof equal consistency, equally distributed as nearly as attainable by thislong charge car method; any unevennessis accumulated with each. successive charge addition untily an aggravated condition` requiring special treatment would be arrived at.'` n

In my invention I employ, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining equalized smelting throughout thefurnaceganr independently operated compartment car, or single individual car, each compartment'or car to contain a charge unit and independent dumping means with said unit, having a length of'less than one half the length of the furnace. These charge units are moved preferably ontracks parallel with the length of the furnace to any desired point and discharged through a longitudinal slot or open-r ing into the furnace. hoppersv properly spaced of proper vrlength to uniformly distribute and discharge f by gravity the contents `ofthe hoppers into the car. The arrangement which I prefer is that of yaseries of parallel material bins which discharge through proper chutes and gates in weighing hoppersby gravity and thence again by gravity, as required by the furnace, it is discharged as a componentfof the charge mixture into the car or compartment. The hopper and chutes are preferably proportioned, constructed and arranged so that the rate of material fed into the car or compartment will'result in the material loading therein in a layer of equal thickness throughout, that is, distributed in the car compartment evenly. y

By referring to the accompanying drawings invention will be made clear.

I also employ scale Figure 1 is a cross section through my furnace on the lines I, I, of Fig. 2.

'F ig. 2 is a cross section of the furnace of Fig. 1 on the line II, II, the section being displaced on the right hand side of the figure to show the arrangement of blast pipes, or twyers on the section line II, III.

Fig. 3 is a detailv of oneV of the furnace wall plates showing the water cooling compartment, in section.

The furnace is of rectangular cross section having preferably a length of not less than several times the width at the twyers, and consists of a foundation 1, and metal. well 2, formed in the foundation and having a lining 3, this combination forming a crucible.

The molten metal settles in the well 2 from which it rises in the siphon 4, and is withdrawn at the spout 5. Resting on this foundation are the steel walls, built up in sections and bolted together, the said sections being double walled providing water circulation compartments as shown at 6, 7, 8, 9. Top compartments as 10 are mounted thereon, from which the flue ducts 11, 12 abstract the gases through the openings 13, 14.

A. closed in top structure 15, is provided having a sliding or rolling top plate 16, which l prefer to mount upon rollers 17, 18, traveling on traclrs so that the top 16 may be rolled back to uncover any portion of the length of the furnace to admit of dumping a charge therethrough. The iue connections l1 and 12 are connected with suitable draft means by which the fumes and gases arising from the smelting charge are withdrawn through the openings 13 and 14, the said draft means maintaining therein a negative pressure such that no fumes or gases will arise through the opening in the top of the furnace when the top plate 16 is `partially or wholly removed, but, on the contrary, there will be a downdraft of small degree sullicient to prevent any of the noxious fumes circulating or penetrating through the top opening. By this means the operators on the charge iioor, above the furnace, are at` all times protected from exposure to the gases or fumes of the smelting operations. Air blast pressure is provided through twyers from the pipes 19 20 as through the connecting pipe and valve 2l, 22, the twyers being connected at 23. These are provided with a normally closed handhole 24 and a normally closed down spout 25, fitted preferably with a fusible plug and also so that they may be readily cleared of obstructions by introducing a tool through the opening 2/1 and clearing the outlet 23 of any slag or obstruction which falls through the opening 25.

lVater inlet connections are provided as at 26 to the various double walledfurnace compartments as 6, 7, 3, it being understood that suitable valves as 27 are preferably to be provided on all of such circulating lines. The water inlet pipes are preferably disposed at the bottom of the circulating com` partments and suitable outlet connections 28 to Withdraw the water which may be cooled and reused if desirable. Within the water compartment of the double walls, and opposite the water inlet connections as 29, I locate a diaphragm plate 30, so that the cold entering water does not directly strike the inner wall plate 31, but follows first a downward dissipating course and then upward through the said compartment in the direction indicated by the arrows 32, 33. Various arrangements of water circulation and connections therefor will suggest themselves to those familiar with the art.

In this inner wall plates as 31 are pre'- vented from burning, and in practice there forms against them a chilled body of slag preventing destruction of the steel plates. Any accumulation of molten slag is withdrawn from time to time through the outlet 34 and spout 3,the molten slag and matte floating upon the` metal contained in the compartment 2.

The weight of the charge in the furnace occasions heavy lateral strains, tending to distant the side walls, and the assembly of the furnace wall sections is preferably along straight lines, which joint lines are suitably supported from lateral truss members, as 3T, 33, 39', which are tied together at suitable intervals by transverse members all, stl, 43, 4st, the last four transverse members being also employedl to support the end walls as f6, 1T. The lateral walls of the furnace are thus securely itierl" together longitudinally from distortion between themselves and the lateral truss mcnr bers 3G, 37, 38, 39, are carried to and supported from the vertical building columns 43, i9, either by direct connection therewith, or as shown in the drawing, through their transverse members 40, 11, 112 and 13.

The building columns and furnace arc further tied together bythe floor structure 50, on which are also carried the tracks 51, 52'and` on which the charge car 53 is accepted to operate. This charge car is arranged with a two plate dumpingbottom 54,55, operable to dump and" restore through the shaft connection 56, lever 57. and pawl and ratchet 53. The i'iue ducts ll. and 12 are arranged with sloping bottoms .77, T8 so that flue dust deposited there automatically discharges back into the furnace through openings 59, 60, for the further recovery of any values which it may contain.

rlhe subsequent travel ofy the gases and fumes ispreferably throngh ducts having sloping bottoms as at 61, 62, 63, Gl, from which accumulating flue dust is abstracted lOl lll

as through the openings and 66 respectively.

W here a battery of furnaces is employed, common blast pipe 67 may be usecL to supply the air pipes as 19, 2O of the individual furnaces, and a commonflue vduct G8, or 69 for the gases, may be connected up with the several flue ducts as 1l, 12., of the individual furnace. K Y

nt 7() is shownv an angle iron en which the charge, or a portion of the charge, from the charge car 53-iirst falls and divides laterally to cause an equalization of the charge falling therefronq` by diverting tothe sides a larger portion ofcourse material. This member may be supported in any well known way, as from the ends of the furnace as 15, or it may be suspended by chains. lt is well known in the art and forms no part of my invention.

in imaginary charge line is shown at 71 indicating an eXtra rapid smelting having taken place in the lower portions yof the furnace opposite the wall plates 7 and 8 of Fig. 1, and indicating the necessity for special treatment at the surface 72 in subsequent charging.

lt is obvious that any charge car discharging equally a charge throughout the length of the furnace would deposit a layer kas indicated by the dotted line 7 3, and would not in any way correct the difficulty. On the contrary, a shorter path for the gases arising along the section line Il, Il, compared with other vertical paths through the charge, would, due to the extra rapid reduction going on oppositethe plates 7 and 8,. result in an aggravated depression as shown by the imaginary line 74, by the time the charge had smelted down` at the same time the smelting` in the remaining portion of the furnacewill be materially reduced.

Mv invention obviates this aggravation.

The operation is as follows:

The furnace charge car 53 is brought from the weighing hoppers containing its suitable mixture of ore, fuel, and fluX, into the position as shown in Fig, 1, and there dumped by releasing the pawl 58, the material falling` over the distributing bar 70, which is constructed and arranged so that there will be a distribution yof the material as shown by the line 71 of Fig. 2; however, this increment of charge will even up the surface line .71 of Fig. 1 to the line 75, thereby preventing any subsequent aggravation of the valley 72, as to the line 74.

rlhe furnace as now charged will smelt down so that the surface line 75, 71, is evened up to the line 76 by the time the furnace is ready for' another charge. n

During the smeltingy in the furnace the water circulation .keeps the inner walls 6, 7, 8, 9, suihciently cool so that actual combusthe siphon 4l and being abstracted from the spout 5, the slag and matte is withdrawn from time to time from the outlet 34, 35, the cold water entering the compartments as '7 is prevented from buckling the plates at 31 by the diaphragm`30; gases and fumes l are withdrawn through flue connections 11 and 12 by suction means not shown. The floor plate 16 is normally positioned to close the top of the furnace, but is opened sulficiently duringv operationto admit from time to time charges as from car 53 to be proportioned and located to correct inequalities occurring in the charge surface as 72, the increments of charge added from time to time being proportioned and positioned to correct inequalities and constantly aim at the attainment and maintenance of a theoretical charge line. t, i

I claim: l y v p 1. lAn elongated reduction furnace for lead lores having an elongatedopening rat the top substantially equal to the length of the furnace. a sliding door for said open ing.; tracks adjacent to said opening; means by which thefumes andy gases from the fur# nace are vented frombelow the said open-k ing in combination with a plurality of ore conveying and dumpingcompartments, each having length of less than one half of the ,n

furnace length.y and means adapting the compartments on the track. n fr 2. A blast furnace for smelting lead ores and the like.\consisting of a pluralityof double-walled metal sections, the space between the double walls constructed and adapted for iiuid circulation to cool the interior walls of the furnace for the purpose of preventing heat action. in contact with said walls, said furnace constructed of assembled plates of rectangular shape and also provided with a longitudinal movable cover plate for closing the top of the furnace when not charging; laterally disposed flue venting means communicating through the upper part of the side walls; a plurality of air blast inlets laterally disposed on the lower portion of the lateral walls; a well below the furnace, said well having an upriser, and a spout external to the walls, and an outlet above said Well for the discharge of slag and matte.k i

3. A blast furnace for smelting lead ores and the like, consisting of a plurality of double-walled metal sections, the space between the double walls constructed and adapted for fluid circulation to cool the interiorV walls of the furnace for the purpose of preventing heat action in contact with said walls, said furnace constructed of assembled plates of rectangular shape and also provided with a longitudinal movable cover plate for closing the top of the furnace when not charging laterally disposed flue venting means communicating through the upper' part of the side walls; a plurality of air blast inlets Alaterally disposed on the lower portion of the lateral walls; a well below the furnace, said well having an upriser, and a spout external to the walls, and an outlet above said well for the discharge of slag and matte, in combination with truss members adapted to support the line of plate joints against the pressure of the furnace charge.

Ll. A blast furnaceV for smelting leadores and the like, consisting of a plurality of double-walled metal sections` the space between the double walls constructed and adapted for iiuid circulation to cool the interior walls of the furnace for the purpose of preventing` heat action in contact with said walls, said furnace constructed of assembled plates of rectangular shape and also provided with a longitudinal movable cover plate for closing the top of the furnace when not charging; laterally disposed flue venting means communicating through the upper part of the'side walls; a plurality of air blast inlets laterally disposed on the lower portion of the lateral walls; a well below the furnace, said well having an up riser, and a spout external to the walls, and an outlet above said well for the discharge of slag and matte, in combination with truss members adapted to support the line of plate joints against the pressure of the furnace charge, the said truss members in turn supported by and from vertically disposed columns, said columns supporting the charge www floor; and a charge oor from which increments of charge are distributed into the furnace as required.

5j. In a blast furnace of rectangular section for the reduction of metal ores; a plurality of section plates provided with water circulation compartments and forming also lateral walls tapering upward to increase the cross section as the top is approached, in combination with a well below said walls within which the reduced metal is accumulated; blast means admitting a plurality of air jets at the lower portions of the lateral walls; vent means for gases and fumes from the upper portions of said lateral walls; an opening in the top of the furnace normally closable by a movable door.

6, In a blast furnace of rectangular section for the reduction of metal ores; a plurality of section plates provided with water circulation compartments and forming also lateral walls tapering upward to increase the cross section as the top is approached` in combination with a well below said walls within which the reduced metal is accumulated; blast means admitting a plurality of air jets at the lower portions of the lateral walls; vent means for gases and fumes from the upper portions of said lateral walls; an opening in the top of the furnace normally closable by a movable door; track means adapted to convey increments of charge above the said opening at any point throughout the length lof the furnace, and dump means for said` charge, in combination with a charge car having a charge compartment of a length less than one half of the length of the said furnace and adapted to travel upon said tracks to any longitudinal position, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my Ihand at San Francisco, California, this 22nd day of September, 1919.

JULES LABARTHE. 

